Import costs - China >> Australia

[clp]

Hi All

We are looking at purchasing a laser cutter from china and are interested to find out what kind of fees and dutys will apply when it lands in Australia. The machine we are looking at is around the 5-6K mark. Has anyone here imported a similar priced machine from China to give us some indication on costs?

Thanks

Chris

[lemonfly0208]

Hi All

We are looking at purchasing a laser cutter from china and are interested to find out what kind of fees and dutys will apply when it lands in Australia. The machine we are looking at is around the 5-6K mark. Has anyone here imported a similar priced machine from China to give us some indication on costs?

Thanks

Chris

Hi Chris,

Although i'm not clear about the fees and dutys in Australia,i'd like to give you some professional suggestions for purchasing laser cutter from China.
We specialize in producing all kinds of laser machines for over ten years, with good quality and pretty competitive price.If you want the laser processing to be perfect,it is very important to choose the proper machine.
Could you tell me something about your material and some requests on this machine?I will quote you based on the machine with your target price.
If you have interest to discuss more details with me,pls send the e-mail to me (gosunlaseryoyo@gmail.com) freely!

YOYO
-------------------------
Good quality and service!
E-mail:gosunlaseryoyo@gmail.com
http://www.gosunlaser.com

[clp]

Thanks for your reply Yoyo, however I am looking for information import duties and taxes, not prices on machines.

Thanks

Chris

[lemonfly0208]

Hi Chris,

Thank you all the same for your reply!

YOYO

[vivinar]

Chris
if you want to know the import duties and taxes,i think you can ask your local company who do the customer clearance for people or the goverment for the taxes ,they will know more about this information.This way is the most dirctly way to know this information.
Becuase some of my customer often ask such company to do customer clearance for them.

[sascha.grant]

(reposted below)

[ibuildrockets]

Hi All

We are looking at purchasing a laser cutter from china and are interested to find out what kind of fees and dutys will apply when it lands in Australia. The machine we are looking at is around the 5-6K mark. Has anyone here imported a similar priced machine from China to give us some indication on costs?

Thanks

Chris

Hi Chris,
I've just been through the process of importing a laser fron China to Melbourne.

(Well, it's not arrived yet - due to be delivered on Friday!!)

Laser cost me US$2920 and included freight to Melbourne.

I phoned customs and asked them what I needed to do - I could lodge everything myself or, with their recommendation, speak with a customs broker (which I did).

The quote I got from the customs broker is:

Professional Services - $150
Rate per additional line - $5
Postage / Petties - $14.75
Hydraulic Tailgate delivery (Local delivery about 45km) - $185
Fuel Surcharge on delivery -$18.50
Customs Electronic Entry Charge / AQIS Fee - $70
Customs Sea Cargo Automation - $27.50
Quarantine Declaration Fee - $47.50
Customs CMR / ICS Fee - $49.50
Quarantine Permit Attendance - $75 (If required)
Quarantine Fee - Between $49 - $139 (If required)
Cargo Inspection Fee - $165 (If required)
Freight Forwarding Charges - Approx $400
(plus GST on all of that!)

Duties - 5%
GST - 10%

Charges in Blue - Customs Agent
Charges in Red - Government
Charges in Green - Freight forwarder

GST is calculated by taking the average of the 4 big banks here on the US$ - it's calculated on the day that the laser left China.

My agent was able to get my laser through duty free (don't read this as GST free), and I wasn't subjected to any of the fees marked 'If required' as I was able to get all the correct documentation out of my supplier. So, all-up I paid $1466.00 (inc GST) in fees/charges/taxes - that's almost 50% of what I paid for the laser.

The Freight Foarwarding charge, from what I understand it to be, is the cost of handling my laser from the ship to the collection point.

Feel free to PM me if you want the details of the customs agent I used.

I did a lot of research before I ordered my laser - I knew what I would be up for beforehand, so there were no nasty surprises.

Oh, and Hi everyone! Long-time lurker, first time poster! Will write more about my experiences when I finally unbox my laser, hopefully this weekend

Hope that helps!

Cheers,
Sascha.

[zax15uk]

Hi Sascha,

Welcome out of the lurking shadows!

I hope the laser arrives ok, and please do keep us posted on how it turns out and be sure to share your first creations.

I know this doesn't help you, but for others...

The additional costs you incurred from port to door as well as the agent fees would have been included in the door-door air freight quotes which is why in a previous post I noted that this is often the best method. It is more expensive but you get the machine in a few days rather than weeks (or months) and have fewer hidden costs. Of course you'd still have the gov. fees and tax but it looks like those weren't too bad.

Zax.

[MonoNeuron]

I have imported stuff from China and used DHL and FED-EX as the carriers.
DHL is a bit more expensive for some items and will charge the 10% on almost all goods no matter what the price.
The Australian Gov charges taxes on anything over $1000 AUD imported into the country which includes the freight in some cases.
If you buy something through eBay and the sender declares a lower value for import reasons, the Dept of Customs will deem that the item is too cheap will send a letter or ring you asking for the eBay transaction details and will work out your taxes from that price.
There is no fooling them.
Fed_Ex handle all the customs paper work when it comes into the country otherwise you will have to find your own person to handle all the import paper work which is a real PITA.
You pay 10% customs duties and 10% GST on your purchase which includes the freight as it is a service. Hence "goods AND services tax".
It would probably be a good idea to ring the carriers and tell them what you are importing and get some info from them on what you actually want to bring in and also weight and sizes to give them an idea. They may be able to tell you a cheaper method.
The only lasers I know of that are banned are the laser pointers 1Mw or greater so the class IV lasers we use are OK to bring in and don't incurr any extra hidden duties.
And as Zax15UK says, get the quote from the seller to your front door. WAY less painful than trying to deal with the Gov beaurocracy.
Rich.

[ibuildrockets]

Hi Zax & Rich,
Because I did all the research up-front, there weren't any nasty surprises and to be honest, I'm pretty happy with the costs.

I originally looked at the little engravers that sell on ebay for around the $1800 - but after reading through all the horror stories, I felt it better to spend more and get a bigger machine. I went with the LG6040 from G.Weike.

Freight time wasn't bad - 20 days in transit and a week through customs (I received confirmation today that it will be delivered on Friday!). And to keep myself occupied while it was on the way, I tracked the ship on marinetraffic.com (yes, I have no life )

Now, just counting down the hours

Sascha.